Unboxing + Hands on with the Nokia Lumia 620 (We're smitten)

We’ve had lots of talk of the entry level Nokia Lumia 620 as of late and ours (from eBay) just happened to show up today. Unlocked and ready to rock we do a quick unboxing and give your first impressions—so make sure you watch the video below.

In short, we’re kind of in love with the 620. It looks awesome. It feels awesome. And it runs Windows Phone 8 (build 10211 aka 'Portico'). Sporting a nice and contrasty 5MP rear shooter, front-facing camera and expandable storage, the 3.8” 800x480 (ClearBlack) device may seem like a light weight compared to the 920 but thanks to the OS, you’d hardly know it.

Indeed we haven’t noticed much of any lag with the OS for regular functions, even though it “only” has a dual-core 1GHz Snapdragon CPU and 512MB of RAM. That’s good news and it feels way nicer than it’s predecessor, the Lumia 610. While we liked the 610, we think the consumer is getting much more bang for their buck with the 620 both in terms of quality and performance.

Speaking of price, the 620 goes for around $300 unlocked and sometimes lower. You can pick it up on Expansys or through various regional carriers and we recommend you do so. Sadly, no US carrier is on board, which is shame. If AT&T were to offer this for $0 on contract with LTE, it’d be quite huge.

We’ll have more on the 620 in the coming days. Stay tuned as we’re excited about this one.

Yes, it supports all of the global 3G standards. Not sure about the North American ones though as its a bit messy with the carriers.
Lumia 620 does also support HSDPA that has for longest time been around Europe. HSDPA supports up to 50mb/s

"One thing to note is that unlike Android, it doesn't state whether it is connected to HSPA or HSPA+, it always shows a simple H next to the signal."

That's not accurate. Windows Phone does show a "+" if HSPA+ is enabled. In fact, i saw it flash for a few secs on the 620 when out to dinner tonight but that tells me this doesn't have all the AT&T bands needed (similar to T-Mobile but with Edge to H on there).

I think it depends on the carrier... The Telstra NextG network has been HSPA+ for a few years but generally shows as 3G, 3G+ (on some phones) or possibly H (usually that's on a different carrier though). 4G LTE is higher than that, and yes LTE & 4G are the same thing here

It's easy first off the size of the device it fits in your hand rather than your hand going around the device. it's running WP8 so have the OS run smooth is a giving, Plus it's rather bold looking I would think that's reason enough. I don't like small phones but I do rather like this device.

Spec-wise the 8X and 920 are pretty much on par. The 8X has superior Beats Audio, while the 920 has a fancy screen most people won't care about. When pitted against each other, the 8X also wins with its camera - yes, the 920 does take better night shots, but worse day shots. Also, the 8X has a MUCH better FF camera for video chat. Wireless charging on the 920 is a definite plus. The 920 has more storage which IMO is a win. No microSD on both the 920 and 8X is a truly epic fail.
I think the 920 is actually slightly ahead, but it's extremely close, depending on what's important to the individual. Anyway, I could care less as neither of them have microSD and I only have the giant plastic brick ATIV to tick that box.
I just checked and the 8S has 4GB storage (?!?!?!?) - I always thought that it had 8GB... 4GB isn't even usable, so that's definitely low-end now

920 has superior mic than 8X. So I guess, audio advantage for 8x negates there.
8X camera doesn't take videos as good as 920 in any lighting conditions.
920 camera after Portico update has been shown to trump 8x's camera.

While I would never buy this phone (too weak) and even less in green (or any other colour apart from black) I can see these 620 catching on really well with children. Nokia may well have on their hands something with the spread capacity of the 3310 that will appeal to lots of kids and teenage girls. And if they make easy the production of alternative covers, I think this will do really really well (remember the 3310 also came with tons of colours and then a ton of unofficial covers were made?)

do you honestly think that this phone is only for kids and teenage girls? not everyone want or needs a big phone. and the size of this one is just perfect, plus the personalization aspect and the decent specs. this is a phone for the general consumer with a target audience from young to old

Yes I do. I think the 820 has a better chance to appeal to adult audiences. This phone may do well for adults as a second phone, but I don't see it for the average consumer of smartphones as a main option.
I think this phone is good for kids and teenage girls as it's a nice compromise between the parents accepting a child's request of a smartphone and any parent lack of will to place a 500-700€ phone in their hands.
This one is strong enough in all aspects for them and it's affordable. So yes, I do see this phone's audience as kids and teenagers mainly (and an adult's second phone as I said). And perhaps elders will also do well with it, those who are not to tech savvy and don't wish a very complicated, big and expensive phone.

As for adults, I think they'll get the 820 or 920 instead. The 820 sells to those adults who want a powerful enough phone for their daily needs, to watch a couple of films on a trip etc. The 920 is obviously targeted for either phone enthusiasts, photography buffs or really snobbish people who want it so they can say "I have the flagship" (kinda like those people who buy an iPhone every year do)

(post scriptum - The above text applies to a Western scenario. I have no idea how things work in other kinds of societies like China or India or the Middle-East.)

So, you're saying that the Lumia 900, HTC Titan II, or the Samsung Focus S aren't good enough for everyday adult use? Think about what you're saying. So, if the next lumias have quad core processors, and higher specs than the 920 will that make the 920 a phone not fit for adult use, and just a toy for teenagers, and kids? Because they way you scale technology this is what you're saying. Maybe you should put the specs of the 620 into a more logical perspective... BTW, I own a 920 and I am impressed with what the 620 has to offer. Also, this phone is for other markets outside of the US where very many adults will find the price appealing, and would love to have this phone.. But, I do agree that this phone should be sold here in the US starting at free, which at that point would mostly likely be bought for kids, teenagers, and elderly... But, its not meant for the US. Kids in the US get the Ativ Odyssey, 820, 810, and 822.. We're spoiled, but we deserve it because we buy into two year contracts, and family plans.... We have to remember one thing,,, today what we call "low end" is actually a seriously capable device,, well, if you're talking about Windowsphone devices... Lol!

I download maps when I travel... so I might have rural areas of Australia, and 3 or 4 cities in a country depending on my travel plans. You could easily be over 500 MB.
It's more so the apps & save data that will take the lion's share of the storage - many games are easliy over 250 MB each. I have over 12 GB in 'apps & reserved space' and constantly have to delete apps & games to keep it within that realm.
I have a lot of diverse interests so it's very easy to have a couple of hundred apps. I think the first time I ran Reinstaller (when it was released) I had a history 360 apps (obviously not all installed at once)... that's probably significantly higher now (I could check if Reinstaller still worked, or the MS history wasn't borked). I only have 16 GB, which I consider very low without microSD. I would happily own the 920 if it had removable storage.

I really wouldn't mind having one of these to compliment my 920. And as Rogers is going to carry this phone in Canada, I may just do that. Just love the look, especially rocking the lime green. Another windows phone success story in the works I am sure.

it's seriously a great phone, haven't been this excited about a device since...well, the 920. Even the camera, at 5MP, ain't half bad. I think Nokia snuck some PureView low-light algorithms into here...you'll see in my review.

The 822 has twice the ram (16Gb vs 8Gb), Wallet, and Data Sense which makes it better than the 810 and 820. It also has replaceable battery and micro SD card that the 8X doesn't. The 8X from Verizon does have wireless charging as opposed to the AT&T version. I guess what it comes down to is that there is a Windows Phone available for just about every need or want out there.

I have a 920 and find myself loving this phone... this is a real coup by Nokia if you ask me. A lot of power and features for that tiny price... with the proper ecosystem this could rule the world... unfortunately I don't think MS is doing quite enough for Nokia. There's just something about a really small portable phone that makes me yearn for one... Even though I love the 920 camera.

I don't think it's possible no, only the 820 has the built in functionality to have interchangeable wireless charging covers. I've seen the phone without the back and there are no pins for a wireless cover to connect to for charging.

As I look at the photo above showing the open back it appears that the battery pins are exposed. All that would be required is a back with the coil, chip and contacts. Looking at the inside of the back cover shown it also appears to have suitable space for those components. So I would think it's completely possible.
Additionally the 810 and 822 both have wireless charging capability with the optional charging backs.

WTF? I have a 920, and 810, and now after watching this video I want a green 620 too (even though it doesn't work on my carrier). They gotta stop making such cool devices, they're gonna make me broke.
I think this would be the perfect phone for my parents who are seniors and totally tech dumb. I tried to teach them about icons, apps and stuff but it just went way over their heads. But live tiles with real updates, and a dedicated camera button, how much easier can you get? At that price, that would be worth bumping my parents up to the smartphone world.
I don't think there is a better device for non-tech minded seniors. Seriously. I tried showing them android and ios and it made their heads spin. I know this is targeted at the youths, but man, I think this is the device for old people too.

This really needs to hit the US, but I'm not sure if AT&T or Verizon would stock it unless they put LTE in (and Verizon would need CDMA support).
The big negative is that the 822 is free on Verizon at the moment, though I doubt that is permanent pricing. I actually think they did it to suppress intress in the Samsung ATIV Odyssey.
I think the place where the 620 could do extremely well is with prepaid plans here in the US. The 810/820/822 take the position as the free entry level Nokia, the 920 and its variants as the midrange, and the new aluminum PureView that is rumored as the top dog in the US with the 620 as the best option for most on prepaid plans or as an unlocked phone. If Verizon could get a version with CDMA, LTE, etc (like the 822, a phone that supports just about everything as a trube global phone) then they could become a great source for an inexpensive unlocked phone.

We have to remember adding more bands means adding more chips, and chips cost money. That would increase the cost. I would love to see it happen but I don't think it is feasible at this price range. Considering how quickly it moved up expansys USA rankings I think the market is starting to realize this makes an excellent prepaid phone already.

It doesn't mean adding more chips, just swapping out the present S4. There's a Qualcomm Krait processor that has full world support for all bands, LTE support, and wifi. It appears to be slightly more expensive, but I doubt that putting it in the phone would cause the price of the handset to go up by more than $25.

I would guess that we may see a modified version of the 620 with such a chipset come to the US where the slightly higher price will not be a dealbreaker. With that chipset, the phone could run on any of the carriers here and still be priced under $300 unlocked.

Daniel, wanted to ask you, I thought the lime green was only available in Hong Kong, plus the writing on the box is Chinese, did you guys buy a 620 from a seller overseas? Because if not, I think there is high interest in this color and phone and people will want to know where to get it locally. Btw...just saw the video, nice wrap up, is the shell sold separately? Or is it with phone only? I may buy a few and sell them stateside if I can get the shells in bulk.

Love everything but the excess bezel at the bottom just like the 920. Just throws the proportions and look right off for me. Don't know why they do it.. I never rest my thumb there so won't accidently touch buttons if there was no blank bezel

Exactly, i also find the bezel annoying when playing games. It makes holding the phone awkward. I would have nothing to complaing about if the bezel was the same size as the one on top, that is really killing my phone experience.

The phone looks pretty nice :) How about app performance? On my HD7 it took a very long time to start WhatsApp or Facebook. On my L820 it opens within 1-2secs (okay, fb needs 5s). And are those apps running smooth? If true,maybe I recommend this phone for my sister..

Looks good, I'm waiting for the 720 to decide. If 720 will have a 4" inch display, 5 mpx camera, 512 RAM, 8 GB storage + SD card slot, 1.2 GHz dual core, and perhaps LTE then it'll be a perfect mid range phone (since it will come out later it should also be priced at $250).
Later this year we'll probably get a high end Lumia 999/1000 with Windows 8 Blue (8.5 ?) update.

I swapped in my t mobile sim with $30 unlimited data plan in the mid cities of Dallas Fort Worth and get 13 Mbps down 3 up when H+ is visible and usually 8-10 Mbps down when just 3G is lit. It was faster speeds than lg Optimus l9 for some reason as it was 3-6 Mbps down as top speed in most places. Very nice!

I remember when they launched it they said you will be able to buy additional covers in the next future, but they will be pretty expensive (I'm not sure but I think they said about 60€) since they have the NFC chip and the audio jack connector built in the covers

I see a lot of people on here saying they are thinking of buying this phone for either development, music player or what have you, which is great. it has a good camera, fantastic audio ect. I wouldnt mind betting that these pople would use them as a daily phone. Windows phone is so good, so broad, such a lot of oppotinuties for it. All Nokia windows phones look sexy, the 920 what i have is a work of art. This would be a good phone for people being introduced to windows phone.

I'm REALLY considering swapping this for my 822. Nothing against the 822 but this has alot of promise. Seems kind of like a downgrade but not for the price, good specs and beautiful design. My only concern is if it will be possible to support wireless charging

For £150 in the UK on o2 this is a bargain. When I visited the shop to look at one I was told they are selling well. A minute later a lady came in to inquire about it too. I've ordered now. If you want one you better order soon as I can see this going out of stock soon. This could well be Nokias best seller smartphone this year !